Are there "social smokers?"

Are there "social smokers?"

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Apr 21 02 12:38 AM

Are there social smokers--yes there are. First thing to note though, no one here at Freedom was a social smoker--at least not when they finally quit
smoking. We KNOW that because they showed up here at Freedom in the first place. A social smoker would not likely ever type the word "quitting"
or "help on quitting" into a search engine. If a social smoker did by chance come upon our site, they would have read for a few minutes, realized
none of this applies to them, and never have gone through our application process.

Now that we have established that the people here are not social smokers, who are the social smokers? Well it is not all the people who you think are
social smokers. Although before I even address this, the term is almost wrong to start with. Social smoker makes about as much sense in some circles as
social leper. There are some people who seem as if they can take it or leave it. I think the term that is used in some scientific communities for these
kind of smokers is "chipper," I think used to describe people who smoke under 5 per day.

But not all of the people who can smoke that way are actually in control of their addiction per se. Some of these people NEED those one to four cigarettes.
They don't think they do but they do. I meet them all the time in clinics. They are spouses of heavy smokers, who basically never bought cigarettes a
day in their life. They "only" smoked them because they were around and to be with the spouse. But when the heavy smoking spouse all of a sudden
gets sick and has to quit, the light smoking spouse enthusiastically volunteers to quit to for support. After all, they figured they never really need
these cigarettes anyway, quitting will be no big deal.

These people are OFTEN in for a real surprise. They will find themselves buying their first pack in their lives, and going through a worse time than the
heavy smoking spouse. Often these people have full blown withdrawals and often, they don't make it ending up being the sole smoker left in the family.
They were not "social smokers" after all, they were full blown addicts who were just at a lower tolerance level than most others. But there is no
guarantee that over time their tolerance would not have increased and resulted in them turning into heavy smokers who would be viewed as full-fledged
smokers by all around them.

The only way for these people to quit and stay off is the same for people who smoke 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or even one hundred cigarettes a day. It is still by
understanding to take and keep control over the nicotine addiction entails always knowing to never take another puff!

Hi Joel, one of my co-workers used to smoke a couple of cigs every day, became pregnant and stopped. I mentioned that it must not have been a terribly big
deal beause she was just a "social smoker". No, she told me, it annoyed her no end to give up her few cigs a day. She liked to smoke at the end
of the day with a glass of wine as a reward.

My boss in Manhattan was also a "social smoker". He liked to have one on the way to the train station in the morning, and when he was out drinking
with his buddies or after a good meal. Well, his buddies all quit, and at the ripe old age of 50+, he found himself buying a pack of cigs at downtown
Manhattan prices. He questioned the sanity of this, and so he has also quit.

A couple of nights ago, I was outside with my sister-in-law, and we were talking about our Quits. I asked her what do all smokers think they really want?
She didn't guess so I told her, "To be Social Smokers." Had a big laugh at that. Realize now how absurd the notion is. Thanks for your
insight.

There are no such thing as social smokers... They are addicts just like
us...

I use to know this girl I went to college with. She would only smoke when she went
out to bars on the weekends. She would smoke about a pack a night at least...Than she wouldn't smoke all week long because she was on the track team and
ran. I don't think that she ever quit though and I wonder if she ever started to smoke full fledge... I was always jelous that she could do this but
now I realize that she didn't have it any better than me.

Hi all...This was always an interesting concept to me...being able to quit any time I wanted...wouldn't that be
great!

I know a guy who says his wife can quit anytime she wants to...yeah, right...tell me another one! Neither one of them
realize the power of this addiction...Many people don't!!! I was once one of the many!

<<There are no such thing as social smokers... They are addicts just like us...<<

Wishing doesn't make it true. There are social smokers just like there are social drinkers. Not everyone who
drinks is an alcoholic, and not everyone who smokes is an addict. I know at least 6 people who smoke maybe a pack a year...if that. And I'm the same
way with booze.

The point is, it may be politically correct to say there are no social smokers, and it may not make us addicts happy
to hear it...but yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and there are social smokers.

Hi Gary, I think if you re-read the post, you will realize that noone here is denying the existence of "social
smokers". The message is : 1) we at Freedom aren't social smokers, and 2) some of the people who claim to be social smokers are really addicts.

There are all different kinds of smokers, I suppose. Closet Smokers, Social Smokers, Ex-Smokers, Light Smokers, Heavy Smokers!
Well, with the exception of the true "Social Smokers", we are all addicted smokers.

I suspect over the New Years you may encounter people who you are assuming are social smokers. These people may be or may not be in control of their
smoking but just know that you are not these people. You are you--a person who searched out a website to help you quit because you felt that you were
incapable of quitting on your own. The feeling that led you to us was caused by the simple fact that you were addicted to nicotine and didn't know what
you needed to do to take control back.

While you may not be physiologically or even psychologically craving nicotine now, you must still realize that you are still addicted to this drug. The
only way to insure that you are never trapped in the grip of active smoking or active nicotine withdrawal again stay focused on why you have committed to
never take another puff!

Morning everyone. These postings have made me think of a friend who I have always
regarded as a "social smoker" When I smoked, I actually envied them because they could go through the day with only one cigarette or a day without
or we could have a huge night on the drink and fags, and then they wouldn't smoke smoke for 2-3 days. (my friend also has a 'habit' clearing of
the throat) But not me, I would be lighting up the next day, regardless of raw throat and hangover.

Well it turns out that my friend is now smoking a lot more than before. Just from what I have read here at
Freedom, I gather their addiction was no less than mine, and maybe that I was disillusioned into thinking they were a only an occasional "social
smoker"

I was pointed to this thread in response to a post of mine. Wow, this is so true. I guess I always considered myself a "social smoker". I would
quit for a couple of months, then start for a couple, then quit, start, quit... Strange cycle. I only smoked a max of 7 a day. It was just about a year ago
that I realized, hey you can't just quit for good, because you are truely addicted and it was that first 2 or 3 cigs after a quit that got me right back
to the 7 a day.

This site has given me so much insite as to what is going on and how to finally beat this addiction once a for all. And it is true... even though I only
smoked a few a day, I experienced the same withdrawal symptoms that many on this site described.

I was that social smoker and then a secret smoker,i started with borrowing cigarettes and then the next day i would buy a pack but smoke in secret.The next
stage was buying my own when going out at weekends,after all it was,nt polite to keep borrowing.My friends wife is a so called social smoker but guess what i
seen her take one on a monday after all it had been a stressful day.I don,t believe that smoking comes with a part time membership because in time the
membership becomes full time.I think that social smoker faces constant withdrawal and i have even witnessed someone socialise more to feed their addiction.

You may not like the new clean indoor-air laws outlawing selective indoor burning that are quickly creeping across the globe, but as the below article points
out, many who "thought" they were social smokers are finding out that come feeding time ... it's time to feed! More hard cold freezing reality
might tend to expose a few more of the lies accompanying each destructive puff of nicotine! Looks like nicotine dependent "stars" are going to be
getting to know their fans a better! John

Celebs smoked out of bars

By Donna Freydkin, special for USA TODAY

May 12, 2003

NEW YORK - This spring and summer, celeb-hungry gawkers can skip the velvet-roped clubs and cruise the streets for some nighttime stargazing.

That's because Manhattan's new smoking ban, which went into ironclad effect on April 30 (after a 30-day grace period) and prohibits cigarettes in
bars and restaurants with very few exceptions, is forcing many nicotine-craving A-listers out of their private VIP rooms and on to very public city corners
for their smoke breaks. It's why John Malkovich, who lives in smoker-friendly France, was forced to leave the premiere of his directorial debut
TheDancer Upstairs on April 29 and inhale outside the Bryant Park Hotel on an unseasonably cold spring evening.

A day earlier at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's gala for the Costume Institute, supermodel Gisele Bundchen stepped out for numerous tobacco breaks,
at times joined by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, one of those adamantly opposed to the ban.

"I can't stand it," Carter says. "It ignores the vanity of New York. Michael Bloomberg has forgotten what it's like to be 25 in New
York and that most people want to go out and drink and smoke at the end of the day."

But many are still doing that - just outdoors. On March 31, the very day the smoking ban first went into effect, Colin Farrell puffed on a cigarette
outside the New York premiere of his thriller Phone Booth. Even pop star Britney Spears isn't above the law - she was asked to put out her
cigarette at Underbar and Show nightspots recently.

"Now that the good weather's here, it's not so bad. People can go outside and have a cigarette," says Blondie frontwoman and downtown
Manhattan resident Deborah Harry. "It does make the inside places much more comfortable, and maybe it'll help a lot of people to quit
smoking."

Still, not all non-smokers are down with the new rules. "I think it's ridiculous," Gina Gershon says. "It's not right. You should
have a smoking section inside, but right now, people are all outside of empty clubs and bars."

Smoking has been prohibited at city restaurants with more than 35 seats since 1995, but stand-alone bars were exempt from the ban, until Bloomberg's
new law took effect. Now, owners are subjected to fines of $200 to $400 for a first offense and $500 to $1,000 for a second offense. The licenses of repeat
offenders can be revoked, and that's why bars mean business when they tell you to put out that cigarette.

But while some celebs lament the new law, others couldn't be happier.

"I've given up smoking, so it's quite good for me, quite handy," says Down With Love star Ewan McGregor, who was in town for a
visit.

I have a sister who I always classed as a "social smoker" - smoking about 5 per day, unless some big social event was on where she would smoke like
a chimney like the rest of us. She has now tried to quit several times unsuccessfully.

My question is this. When I stopped I have noticed wonderful things happening, taste, smell, money - you know all the good stuff. However because of her
low consumption, she didn't seem to get these positive gains - obviously because she wasn't suffering all that much while she was smoking. Any
articles or advice I can share with her and try to convince her to have another go?

Kath.

I have been quit for 1 Month, 5 Days and 48 minutes (35 days). I have saved $441.42 by not smoking 1,226 cigarettes. I have saved 4 Days, 6 hours and 10
minutes of my life.

Around the beach here, those referred to as social smokers are the ones who smoke very little if any all day. Then, in the evening from cocktail hour on,
they chain smoke for hours. I understand about alcohol expediting expulsion of nicotine via kidneys. The evening nicotine frenzy appears much like a
nicotine "pig out". These people do carry their on cigs. The "bummers" do not. I know people who have bummed cigarettes at parties for
many years. I've noticed that they are really on again, off again smokers. We just usually see them at parties. There are a lot of angry people
around in perpetual withdrawal expressing their rage. The human environment is no longer supportive of the addiction. Smoking among other things is most
inconvenient. I guess it doesn't matter what class or category we filed ourselves as addicts as long as we can convince ourselves to never take another
puff.

I have been quit for 5 Days, 19 hours, 54 minutes and 39 seconds (5 days). I have saved $26.23 by not smoking 174 cigarettes. I have saved 14 hours and 30
minutes of my life.

I was one of these smokers who could puff under five a day, but my addiction is obvious and apparent to me! If I did not have each ciggarette as planned I
would get more than agitated. My nicotine schedule was very rigid . And this incldued right after yoga. Before a bath. When on the phone. If upset or happy. If
I was unable to ingest nico-drug at EXACTLY at these times, I was a monster.

And when I went out or was creating I'd suddenly smoke more and more.

Then, of course the next day I'd taper down again to make up for my excess.

Really ridiculous and took a lot of energy out of my every waking minute, for it seemed I was always worrying about when I would have my next cigg and where.

I had been wondering in these early days of my quit if perhaps I'm not really a smoker (my mind attempting to rationalize my addiction, obviously).
I've been trying to convince myself in various ways that I could probably have just one someday. However, I've tried to quit again and again and it was
ALWAYS this 'social' smoke that got me back into my nicotine habit. And believe me, even though my intake was not up to a pack the intensity of my
addiction was just as severe. I started smoking at the age of 12. And now I'm almost 40. So for 28 years I've focused all this energy on smoking (even
when I wasn't having a cigg).

I'm really looking forward to being able to think on other things.

I pray for the strength and knowledge and support to do so.

Blessings,

Clarity who is ten daze into freedom and happy that (at least) 70 ciggs were not smoked.

Hello, I know this is an older thread but I would like to address it. I was the exact kind of smoker Joel is speaking of here. I could easily smoke only
three or five cigarettes in a day. For years this is how I smoked. Mostly because I was a closet smoker. Also more than 6 or 7 cigarettes would make my
throat sore and give me a headache. How foolish could I have been to keep smoking in the first place??

BUT.............................. I did and I always felt quitting was even harder for me because I was always in a constant state of withdrawal even
when I was smoking so even withdrawal felt normal. How sick is that? So I am glad to see my quit feelings validated. I also blew a 4 year quit from
thinking I could do a social puff. No it just can not happen. Now with the education from this site I know that and this is why this quit for me is so
different. I know this time it is for real and how to keep it for real. Not that I even have craves anymore.

Gosh I did have a smoking dream after three years of being quit and that was a shock. It was so real and I was so upset with myself. The cigarette did
not taste good and my husband caught me smoking it and when I woke up I was crying so hard I could not go back to sleep . Even though I knew it was a
dream. I fretted over this dream for a few days.

So not taking any more time on this. Just adding my 2 cents worth on a social smoker and their addictions. Thanks Joel :^) Again!!

I spoke with a classmate who said "I only smoke, when I drive." When I asked how often she drove, she answered "Every
day."

I have a friend who lectured me about smoking ten years ago when we went to school together. Since then, he became an MD and a smoker. Some only smoke when
they drink, some only on weekends, they all seem to have ways to describe their "non-habit."

I used to be so jealous of people who are able to be social smokers. This jealousy is really just a way of legitamizing the fantasy of one=one. This
feeling is nothing more than a simple craving to me now.

I like being a nonsmoker, it feels like a credential. A credential with fancier perks than "social smoker" or "occasional smoker."

Rick - Free and Healing for Two Months, Eight Days, 15 Hours and 7 Minutes.
I have saved $282.81 by not smoking 1253 cigarettes.

I have a friend like that. It drives me nuts. She has a puff off other peoples smokes now and then at gatherings, but other then that, nothing. We could all
be sitting around for hours smoking away and she deosn't have any, then once in a blue moon she'll take a puff. But she's never even bought a
pack!

I don't think I'm jealous, but more annoyed that I'm an addict. I never thought of myself as an addict. Not till now. My whole body's going
through some crazy stuff right now as part of withdrawl.

Your friend visits them so now and then and she also takes some cocaine so now and then.

Does that make you jealous? That's what your friend is doing.

It won't take that long before she gets addicted. Have a good look at her, she is the same as us before we got addicted. It starts with bumming some
cigarettes here and there and it ends with buying and smoking 20/40/60/80 per day. You are looking in the mirror Debbie. Congratulations with your quit!